Classical Form: A Theory of Formal Functions for the Instrumental Music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven

Caplin's book is, on the whole, an excellent revival of the Formlehre (study of form) tradition. His methodology of examining "formal functions" (i.e. how a particular musical module functions in the context of a full piece, rather than just labelling it) is incredibly revealing, and therefore his explanations of the various classical theme types (period, sentence, and small ternary) are likely the best you'll see in any study. The one caveat that I should express about this book is its reliance on the Riemannian and Schoenbergian traditions of harmonic theory: that's not necessarily a drawback, but to Americans who are used to the Schenkerian and roman numeral traditions of harmonic theory it can take a little getting used to (well worth the effort though).

I read a lot of books on music, and in particular form. This is by far the best I've read on the subject, brilliant insights, brilliant analyses. Opened me up to a new way of understanding music.I'm a professional composer, and although I don't write in the Classical style, the way the formal functions were explained in this book have already had a profound effect on my own work in a contemporary style.It requires a lot of patience to get through because hearing the musical examples is crucial, but it's worth it.

I have greatly enjoyed this book for both the wealth of insight that it offers and the manner in which the author presents it.

The examples in the iPad version has transcribed melodies that do not correspond with the titles. For instance, example 3.2 in chapter 3, analyzes Beethoven's string quartet and shows the exactly same melody as the prior example. Example 4.3 is also incorrect. Im not referring to his changes to fit the register, I'm talking about having completely different melodies than the tittle mentioned. Very very frustrating !!! Please fix these examples. Otherwise, book is amazing.

This book is spectacular for people who want to deeply understand the classical forms and their characteristics!!!

This book is a welcome explanation of music in the Classical period. The examples are clear without being overly explanatory.The list of selections are given as true representations of the period and their purpose in music history. A good companion to 'Sonata Forms ' by Charles Rosen.

William Caplin states his ideas in a very straightforward way, precise and detailed

It might seem like a great idea to get this as an eTextBook on all of your kindle apps/devices, it is NOT. The musical examples where way to small to read, and when they where enlarged they didn't have enough detail to differentiate things like notes and any analytical markings. I tested this book on two different kindle apps and a kindle.